The Archetype of the Woman in the Life and Work of Paul Evdokimov

The article presents the view of the Russian Orthodox theologian Paul Evdokimov on the topic of women. Evdokimov’s theological reflections are framed in his own experience with women. The first chapter on the role of woman as mother as the inspiration of the icons of the Mother of God and God’s Wisdom begins with the mention of Evdokimov’s beautiful relationship with his own mother who gave him religious faith. He could not perceive a woman other than through this experience of maternal love. As an Orthodox thinker, he put the theme of woman as fiancée and wife in the sacramental unity of man and woman, modelled on the love of Christ and the Church, as discussed in the second chapter. The third chapter, again, deepens the topic in the example of the archetype of the woman as the Mother of God, and the archetype of the man as John the Baptist from the Deisis icon. The second and third chapters also mention his pain in the death of his first wife and his second marriage, which gave him the power to create. Evdokimov was critical of the history of subjugating women to men through ideologies, philosophies, and religions. Against this, he stressed that, in a Christian perspective, the woman, through her religious nature, is the stronger sex.